The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization. Edited by Tamar Hodos. London, UK: Routledge, 2017. 970 pages. $221 (ISBN 978-0-415-84130-6). E-book available (ISBN 978-315-44900-5), call for pricing.

Tamar Hodos, Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Bristol, has assembled a fascinating and unique work in the Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization. Usually considered a modern-era phenomenon, Hodos and her collaborators demonstrate that globalization has been with us since complex ancient societies first developed. In her introduction, Hodos discusses the idea of globalization, and defines it as “processes of increasing connectivities that unfold and manifest as social awareness of those connectivities” (4). Globalization, therefore, is not necessarily modern, Western, or a homogenization of cultures, but instead is a “development of shared practices and values that contribute to the idea of the world as one place, while recognizing cultural and other differences” (5). Hodos and her contributors argue that globalization theory, therefore, partnered with material culture studies, can be used to discuss and better understand connections between people and cultures in the past as well as the present.

Unlike many “handbooks,” this volume is not linear in timeframe nor is it a synopsis of scholarship. Instead, scholars studying various cultures are geographically divided into continental areas, and each article discusses a particular case study of globalization within a particular culture. Most articles address cultures of the past, such as the Olmec of Mesoamerica or Iron Age Asian societies, but some focus on more modern phenomena such as cell phone use in Africa. Five introductory chapters discuss basic theory and definitions, and a final chapter summarizes the evidence and makes the case for globalization as an ongoing process from the Bronze Age forward. The end result is a resource that is wide-reaching and thoughtful in its discussion of how societies and individuals both adapted and redefined their culture due to globalization processes, and how they maintained their own unique identities within the “complex connectivities” that resulted from it.

This resource is highly recommended for any library supporting an anthropology, archaeology, world history, or sociology program, and is most useful for upper level undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars.—Amanda K. Sprochi, Cataloger, The University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri